Film or Ceramic/glass coating?
Discussion
Can anyone give me some feedback on their experience of ceramic (or 'glass') type paint protection and that of film? I am considering it for both my VV and V8V.
My main concern is stone-chips really, and one of the potential supplying agents is recommending a film on the prone parts (bumper, bonnet front wings, side skirts), followed by the ceramic coating over the whole car. Of course, that's about twice the price for just the ceramic coating - so wondering whether the added expense is really worth it?
Cheers, Ray.
My main concern is stone-chips really, and one of the potential supplying agents is recommending a film on the prone parts (bumper, bonnet front wings, side skirts), followed by the ceramic coating over the whole car. Of course, that's about twice the price for just the ceramic coating - so wondering whether the added expense is really worth it?
Cheers, Ray.
Paint protection film is worth its weight in gold. There's not really a bad one but some are better than others. I like Expel but look into it for yourself.
Go as far as you like but I find the front foot of the car/bonnet, sills, halfway up the rear arches and rear quarters is adequate protection.
Si/ceramic coatings have limitations. They will NOT stop chips and other physical damage. That's horse s
t.
It will reduce minor swirling and other irritating abrasions. And I mean minor. You walk past and your jacket zip slides down the body, it's leaving a mark.
The greatest advantage I've noticed is the coating acts like permanent wax. Mine was coated a year ago and the water still beads like the day it was applied. I haven't needed to put wax on my car for a year. I wash it, dry it, and it still shines like a full coat of wax.
Bear in mind, I had a full multiple stage machine polish and correction before this gear went on. If you put it on an unprepared surface, you're just going to preserve the ste you have now.
Waste of time and money. Let me be clear.
Full paint correction detail followed by the coating or don't bother.
Go as far as you like but I find the front foot of the car/bonnet, sills, halfway up the rear arches and rear quarters is adequate protection.
Si/ceramic coatings have limitations. They will NOT stop chips and other physical damage. That's horse s
t. It will reduce minor swirling and other irritating abrasions. And I mean minor. You walk past and your jacket zip slides down the body, it's leaving a mark.
The greatest advantage I've noticed is the coating acts like permanent wax. Mine was coated a year ago and the water still beads like the day it was applied. I haven't needed to put wax on my car for a year. I wash it, dry it, and it still shines like a full coat of wax.
Bear in mind, I had a full multiple stage machine polish and correction before this gear went on. If you put it on an unprepared surface, you're just going to preserve the s
te you have now. Waste of time and money. Let me be clear.
Full paint correction detail followed by the coating or don't bother.
I would just add one point.
I have just purchased a new to me DBS as mentioned in another thread. The car had ventureshield fitted when new. 7 years and 23,000 miles later has not been kind to the shield. For sure it had pretty much done its job but I've had to remove it as it was "tatty" Yep it reveals near perfect paintwork but in situ it looked poor.
The new ones allegedly self heal which sounds fantastic but I'm yet to be convinced they would self heal after a good belt with a decent stone. In that case removal and replacement would be needed. Not cheap from what I can gather.
I think it really depends on usage. I do a lot of hooning such as the Monaco trip posted elsewhere. It's pretty fast and close to the others so we get a lot thrown at us. For me the thought of spending a few thousand for it to get ripped is a no go. Full front end respray every few years @ £1,300 is my preference. If use is lighter I suspect the latest product would be a wise choice.
I have just purchased a new to me DBS as mentioned in another thread. The car had ventureshield fitted when new. 7 years and 23,000 miles later has not been kind to the shield. For sure it had pretty much done its job but I've had to remove it as it was "tatty" Yep it reveals near perfect paintwork but in situ it looked poor.
The new ones allegedly self heal which sounds fantastic but I'm yet to be convinced they would self heal after a good belt with a decent stone. In that case removal and replacement would be needed. Not cheap from what I can gather.
I think it really depends on usage. I do a lot of hooning such as the Monaco trip posted elsewhere. It's pretty fast and close to the others so we get a lot thrown at us. For me the thought of spending a few thousand for it to get ripped is a no go. Full front end respray every few years @ £1,300 is my preference. If use is lighter I suspect the latest product would be a wise choice.
AMDBSNick said:
I would just add one point.
I have just purchased a new to me DBS as mentioned in another thread. The car had ventureshield fitted when new. 7 years and 23,000 miles later has not been kind to the shield. For sure it had pretty much done its job but I've had to remove it as it was "tatty" Yep it reveals near perfect paintwork but in situ it looked poor.
The new ones allegedly self heal which sounds fantastic but I'm yet to be convinced they would self heal after a good belt with a decent stone. In that case removal and replacement would be needed. Not cheap from what I can gather.
I think it really depends on usage. I do a lot of hooning such as the Monaco trip posted elsewhere. It's pretty fast and close to the others so we get a lot thrown at us. For me the thought of spending a few thousand for it to get ripped is a no go. Full front end respray every few years @ £1,300 is my preference. If use is lighter I suspect the latest product would be a wise choice.
Venturesheild is thicker and harder than Expel and doesn't heal (prevention as opposed to cure). (With the Expel I have) If the impact is enough to break the film, it wont 'heal'. Basically, any scratches and road rash will heal. I have just purchased a new to me DBS as mentioned in another thread. The car had ventureshield fitted when new. 7 years and 23,000 miles later has not been kind to the shield. For sure it had pretty much done its job but I've had to remove it as it was "tatty" Yep it reveals near perfect paintwork but in situ it looked poor.
The new ones allegedly self heal which sounds fantastic but I'm yet to be convinced they would self heal after a good belt with a decent stone. In that case removal and replacement would be needed. Not cheap from what I can gather.
I think it really depends on usage. I do a lot of hooning such as the Monaco trip posted elsewhere. It's pretty fast and close to the others so we get a lot thrown at us. For me the thought of spending a few thousand for it to get ripped is a no go. Full front end respray every few years @ £1,300 is my preference. If use is lighter I suspect the latest product would be a wise choice.
What I have found is the film is sacrificial. If you impact the film with sufficient force to damage the film, it gives way avoiding damage to the paint underneath. An example was when the DBS was reversed out of the drive and swung a bit too soon and caught a gate post. The rip in the film indicated the worst. When we trimmed off the damaged film, the paint underneath was unmarked. Paid for itself there in one go.
I suppose if you're on a road with a lot of loose substrate and sat up the jacksy of an old fogey then the peppering may be too much for it.
My advise is to set off before the V8's and just after the V12V's. Shouldnt be a problem then....
Edited by divetheworld on Wednesday 1st June 10:39
divetheworld said:
My advise is to set off before the V8's and just after the V12V's. Shouldnt be a problem then....
Not sure about that.. On a track yes, but what we have seen so far on our less than perfect roads is the long wheel base cars seem to be able to put more power down...Edited by divetheworld on Wednesday 1st June 10:39
I went for the full PPF with my recently bought Rapide - in part because the car spends a lot of time outside and I wanted some extra protection from the elements and in part because my old DB9 ended up with so many paint swirls, stone chips, minor scratches etc that it was deeply frustrating.
It's a little too early to give a proper progress report, but I've been impressed with both how invisible it is (you can only really tell its there when you look for edges at wheel arches etc) and how the car has retained its "just detailed" look to the paint.
The downside is the film isn't cheap, so if the car wasn't sat outside I'd probably look to do just the front. And set against the I'm hoping to avoid the need for future detailing, bonnet resprays to remove stone chips and time off the road for both of those things. I think the warranty on the stuff is 7 years or so.
Will try to provide an update in a few months on how well the 'self-healing' works in practice
It's a little too early to give a proper progress report, but I've been impressed with both how invisible it is (you can only really tell its there when you look for edges at wheel arches etc) and how the car has retained its "just detailed" look to the paint.
The downside is the film isn't cheap, so if the car wasn't sat outside I'd probably look to do just the front. And set against the I'm hoping to avoid the need for future detailing, bonnet resprays to remove stone chips and time off the road for both of those things. I think the warranty on the stuff is 7 years or so.
Will try to provide an update in a few months on how well the 'self-healing' works in practice
AMDBSNick said:
I would just add one point.
I have just purchased a new to me DBS as mentioned in another thread. The car had ventureshield fitted when new. 7 years and 23,000 miles later has not been kind to the shield. For sure it had pretty much done its job but I've had to remove it as it was "tatty" Yep it reveals near perfect paintwork but in situ it looked poor.
The new ones allegedly self heal which sounds fantastic but I'm yet to be convinced they would self heal after a good belt with a decent stone. In that case removal and replacement would be needed. Not cheap from what I can gather.
I think it really depends on usage. I do a lot of hooning such as the Monaco trip posted elsewhere. It's pretty fast and close to the others so we get a lot thrown at us. For me the thought of spending a few thousand for it to get ripped is a no go. Full front end respray every few years @ £1,300 is my preference. If use is lighter I suspect the latest product would be a wise choice.
Do a lot of hooning in mine and I've found the PPF self-heals to a degree but a big impact still damages the film which looks as bad as a chip TBHI have just purchased a new to me DBS as mentioned in another thread. The car had ventureshield fitted when new. 7 years and 23,000 miles later has not been kind to the shield. For sure it had pretty much done its job but I've had to remove it as it was "tatty" Yep it reveals near perfect paintwork but in situ it looked poor.
The new ones allegedly self heal which sounds fantastic but I'm yet to be convinced they would self heal after a good belt with a decent stone. In that case removal and replacement would be needed. Not cheap from what I can gather.
I think it really depends on usage. I do a lot of hooning such as the Monaco trip posted elsewhere. It's pretty fast and close to the others so we get a lot thrown at us. For me the thought of spending a few thousand for it to get ripped is a no go. Full front end respray every few years @ £1,300 is my preference. If use is lighter I suspect the latest product would be a wise choice.
But I don't get the respray argument. I have had both but the fact is the car is damaged almost immediately after it's been painted and continues to get worse throughout the period before it is then re-sprayed. So it's always imperfect and looks , on average, worse all the time than a filmed car.
AMDBSNick said:
I would just add one point.
I have just purchased a new to me DBS as mentioned in another thread. The car had ventureshield fitted when new. 7 years and 23,000 miles later has not been kind to the shield. For sure it had pretty much done its job but I've had to remove it as it was "tatty" Yep it reveals near perfect paintwork but in situ it looked poor.
The new ones allegedly self heal which sounds fantastic but I'm yet to be convinced they would self heal after a good belt with a decent stone. In that case removal and replacement would be needed. Not cheap from what I can gather.
I think it really depends on usage. I do a lot of hooning such as the Monaco trip posted elsewhere. It's pretty fast and close to the others so we get a lot thrown at us. For me the thought of spending a few thousand for it to get ripped is a no go. Full front end respray every few years @ £1,300 is my preference. If use is lighter I suspect the latest product would be a wise choice.
I'm not a fan of Ventureshield. It's too thick and quickly tinges to sepia.I have just purchased a new to me DBS as mentioned in another thread. The car had ventureshield fitted when new. 7 years and 23,000 miles later has not been kind to the shield. For sure it had pretty much done its job but I've had to remove it as it was "tatty" Yep it reveals near perfect paintwork but in situ it looked poor.
The new ones allegedly self heal which sounds fantastic but I'm yet to be convinced they would self heal after a good belt with a decent stone. In that case removal and replacement would be needed. Not cheap from what I can gather.
I think it really depends on usage. I do a lot of hooning such as the Monaco trip posted elsewhere. It's pretty fast and close to the others so we get a lot thrown at us. For me the thought of spending a few thousand for it to get ripped is a no go. Full front end respray every few years @ £1,300 is my preference. If use is lighter I suspect the latest product would be a wise choice.
Somehow we had picked up a cut on the expel bonnet film before we went to Monaco. The paint below is untouched though.
Some hooning and wet weather motorway later and there are no new marks.
I'm sure without the film we'd have a rash of stone chips on bonnet/mirrors
Nicks policy is just to buy a new car each time
I have a few layers of ceramic coating on the car. Seems to have helped prevent swirls over the past 12 months (or was that just my PITA washing regime?). They do increase the hardness of the paint a little on paper - but its not much...but then that is more than wax does... It does give a low maintenance long lasting high gloss though plus excellent beading and more protection than any wax. For me its just a better alternative to organic waxes and an excuse to get someone else to do it as it bonds to the paint so hard amateurs aren't allowed near the stuff! So once a year its a very light detail and a ceramic oat top up. Seems to work well for me but its has nothing to do with stone-chip protection - only hanging back does that!
When I do have the front end resprayed I was thinking of having film, but its pushing the same cost as a respray and adds the 'tan lines' and may affect the gloss (or do you CQuartz coat the film too)? Lets have this one out as it would be great to conclude the best anti chip way
When I do have the front end resprayed I was thinking of having film, but its pushing the same cost as a respray and adds the 'tan lines' and may affect the gloss (or do you CQuartz coat the film too)? Lets have this one out as it would be great to conclude the best anti chip way
NeinFondue said:
divetheworld said:
My advise is to set off before the V8's and just after the V12V's. Shouldnt be a problem then....
Not sure about that.. On a track yes, but what we have seen so far on our less than perfect roads is the long wheel base cars seem to be able to put more power down...
I have a ceramic Gtechniq Crystal Serum coating via Paddy. Brilliant, no swirl marks after 18 months, despite several less than ideal car washes in hotel car parks, or just with detailing fluid.
Have picked up a number of stone chips, but have dealt with those with Chipex, www.chipex.co.uk which if applied properly, works extremely well. So I'll stick with that and respray the front end if it gets out of hand.
Have picked up a number of stone chips, but have dealt with those with Chipex, www.chipex.co.uk which if applied properly, works extremely well. So I'll stick with that and respray the front end if it gets out of hand.
The film recommendation came to me as result of the detailer's experience with the relatively 'soft' paint that Aston used in the late DB7V and early V8V/DB9 eras. What the detailer is saying mirrors much of what has been said above - the ceramic coat will be harder than the paint and will maintain a brilliant shine, but to resist stone chips (can't totally avoid if it's a big enough stone or hits hard enough to go through film, as has been said above) the only way is a film. That chimes with me, as I've had to have the DB7VV's front bumper painted twice in two years due to stone chipping.
I'm looking at having film on the front bumper, wings, bonnet and side-skirts, with X-pel for the DB7VV (as it's now in the UK) and something similar (not sure if it's self-healing though) on the V8V in the UAE; then the recommendation is to have the ceramic finish applied over the whole car afterwards.
I'm looking at having film on the front bumper, wings, bonnet and side-skirts, with X-pel for the DB7VV (as it's now in the UK) and something similar (not sure if it's self-healing though) on the V8V in the UAE; then the recommendation is to have the ceramic finish applied over the whole car afterwards.
Navyatco said:
I'm looking at having film on the front bumper, wings, bonnet and side-skirts, with X-pel for the DB7VV (as it's now in the UK) and something similar (not sure if it's self-healing though) on the V8V in the UAE; then the recommendation is to have the ceramic finish applied over the whole car afterwards.
My car had a ceramic coating applied a year ago and already had a film on the front. I wondered at the time whether it was sensible to put a hard ceramic over a flexible film, but maybe it is!Slight tangent guys, but opening the tailgate scratches the plinth on these hatchbacks as the nails on your upturned hand drags against it when grabbing the lower edge of the bootlid.
Just had them polished out again so a layer of film or a snazzy TURBO plinth would be a great idea. Is it even possible to buy a strip of film that is about a 100cm x 5cm for a quick DIY?
Just had them polished out again so a layer of film or a snazzy TURBO plinth would be a great idea. Is it even possible to buy a strip of film that is about a 100cm x 5cm for a quick DIY?
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